Surprising Rams Rebound From Opening Loss

The impressive Peninsula District basketball starts of Hampton and Warwick aren't surprising, but Lafayette's is.

The unsung Rams, a 31-point loser to Group AA entry Bruton in their season opener, recovered to sweep district foes Phoebus, Bethel and Ferguson on consecutive nights last week.

That surge earned them a share of first place with defending state champion Hampton, a half game ahead of Warwick.

"I knew after losing our opener to Bruton we didn't have the personnel to play a running style," Lafayette Coach Jerry Farrior said.

"We switched to a deliberate offense, and the fact that we played on three straight nights helped us because nobody had a chance to really prepare for the change in our style."

Lafayette visits Kecoughtan, 1-2, tonight. The inexperienced Warriors are gaining battle scars quickly after sandwiching loses to potent Warwick and Hampton last week around a victory over Denbigh.

Jeff Roberts, one of five senior starters for Lafayette, was not surprised by the Rams' winning streak.

"I knew we had the talent to win, it was just a matter of our settling down into a more deliberate style of offense," he said.

"We stressed fundamentals in the preseason and really didn't install an offense until after our first game. We call it a layup offense. Everybody looks for the backdoor pass and a higher percentage shot."

Roberts sees no resemblance between this season's team and last year's 7-15 club.

"There's a big improvement in our ballhandling and passing," he said. "Last year it was a lot of individuals fussing at each other. This year, we're truly a team with experienced leadership, and Coach Farrior talks to us about concentrating on improving things we've done wrong rather than having to yell at us."

Now that the deliberate offense has jelled, Lafayette is concentrating on rebounding and defense.

"We really don't have a lot of height," Roberts said. "So we have to box out and crash the boards as well as play tough defense. We don't care who we're playing on a given night, our style is the same and it's a matter of how well we execute it."

Roberts is joined on the starting unit by guard Shawn Boyer, forwards Raymond Brown (14.0 ppg) and Jay Wright (13.2) and center James Cooper (11.0).

The deliberate attack has enabled Farrior to get more playing time from his starters and lessened the impact of the Rams' depth shortage.

The Lafayette coach is wary of Kecoughtan because of its strong showing for three quarters against Hampton and its home-court advantage.

"We also have trouble on the road against Hampton schools," he said. "Kecoughtan is big and quick and must have improved since its opening loss to Warwick."

Kecoughtan junior Doug Walter has scored 45 points in his last two games, boosting his team-leading average to 16.0.

How long will Lafayette stay with the deliberate style?

"We're winning with it, so if it ain't broken, don't fix it," Farrior said. "We'll stay with it as long as it is successful."

The remainder of tonight's Peninsula District schedule finds 0-3Menchville at 3-0 Hampton, 2-0 Warwick at 1-2 Denbigh, 1-3 Ferguson at 1-3 Phoebus, Bethel, 0-3,plays a non-district game at Salem in Virginia Beach. After tonight, district play takes a break until Jan. 2.